Day 7: Evening

Aftern-Evening: 3pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: January 22 - January 29, 2020. ]

After all of Seven's fights, ending in Luka taking Ten's hand as the other heroes arrive. The knights will be treated to the sight of something entirely unexplainable: Seven is wounded, laying on the asphalt with a bright white crossbow bolt sticking out of their body. They're still pouring black goop off of their body, but they appear to be wrapped in some kind of cloth tarp. Five is kneeling over them, dressed in a skin-covering assassin outfit that only reveals her five eyes peering out. In her hand is a phone, and that's really all that can be seen before she and Seven disappear into a portal in the ground.

Luka, meanwhile, is standing with Ten's hand in his and his crossbow laid on the ground and not in his hand. No matter what the arriving heroes cry out in order to get his attention, it's too late to stop him. Abruptly, the portal opens and both the Princess and Ten disappear into the ground.

Naturally, the hashtag #princessnapped is forged.

That doesn't prove to be the only hashtag to get some heavy use this evening. The #wizardfound and #robotwizard hashtags find a sudden, new reason to actively discuss what's going on.

The remaining heroes: Garrot, Gyre, Haizea, Matilda, Olivia, (and... where's Terrence?) will find that the events from earlier in the day have caught up to them. There's a crack like thunder as both the Wizard and the Protector flicker into existence and both land in the superhero pose in the center of the intersection that Luka just disappeared from.

The Protector, if possible, is looking even worse than before. He's sporting a black eye and numerous cuts on his forehead, cheeks, and arms. It looks like he's been lit on fire at least once, but even so he's holding his rapier out in anticipation of the next strike.

The Wizard, meanwhile, is finally openly visible to everyone after her absence. She looks rough. It's as if the areas where she'd been harmed have been replaced or repaired with robotics. The left side of her face is no longer bandaged, instead revealing that she now has a robotic eye with a glowing yellow ring. The cables that were visible in the video before are very clearly plugged in just behind her ear, trailing down over her shoulder and down her back beneath the robes.

And of course she's still wearing pajamas. But they look like they've seen better days, charred and ripped and shredded at every edge. In her hand, though, is a massive axe. One side of its head is a giant half-circle axe head while the other side is a heavy weight like a hammer. The entire weapon is jet black, but it has a glossy shine.

What's the worst that could happen?

The Weather
Cloudy, breezy.
48°F / 9°C
Brrr.

Prompts:

3:00pm The Garden, Unknown Location: When Luka falls through the portal with Ten, he'll become immediately aware that the monster has slipped himself closer and snuck his feet beneath Luka's to stabilize him. Despite the falling, he seems surprisingly stable in the air.

And then there's the soft crunch of grass beneath his feet and he shifts slightly, waiting for Luka to step back on his own. Wherever they are, the air is filled with the scents of wildflowers and scents that are both beautiful and entrancing in their complexity. It's clear that there are dozens, if not hundreds of flowers and plants in the immediate vicinity. There's the gentle warmth of sunlight on Luka's skin, clearly advertising that they're outside (or in a very clever indoor garden). But most calming is the gentle sounds of moving water. If Luka focuses, he'll be able to pick out that there's a small waterfall, several waterways, and multiple water features with water tumbling down over rocks. And, of course, a pool or a pond with fish gently swimming about beneath the surface.

But he'll be interrupted twice before he can lose himself. The first is Ten.

"We're here." He says, but if Luka's not shaken enough he'll realize that he doesn't hear Seven and his Seven sense isn't going wild. But the second distraction happens as Luka's phone bloops from an unknown sender with a text:

"Welcome to the Garden, Princess." The text reads... with no explanation of who or how they sent him the text. That's totally normal!

3:00pm Street Intersection, Bamborough: With the arrival of the Wizard and the Protector, it's very clear that shit is about to go down. But that absolutely isn't what the Wizard has in mind for this situation. She's the one running this game, and she isn't about to get five heroes wrapped up in her duel with the Protector. Before anyone can take an opportunity to make any attacks, and especially not the Protector, she snaps the fingers of her free hand five times.

And reality fractures. The way that the cracks in midair begin to fold and reflect the area and people around them, it's like the world is folding up into a trick mirror house. It's... actually exactly that. Reality twists and folds, forming reflections and containers out of the air itself until every single hero is enclosed in one. The hero in the middle of their own box, reflected on two opposite walls. But on the opposite two walls, the Wizard is visible beyond in one of them and the Protector is visible beyond in the other room. Uh. This conversation might get awkward. Worse is that they can't get distracted by their Seven senses, because no one can feel them anymore.

3:15pm To Everyone: In the middle of the earlier events, every hero in Bamborough receives a text from an unknown sender. The only one who's spared this text is Luka, because he got a text earlier. The text reads: "I can give you one teleport to anywhere today. Tell me when and to where. Don't be unreasonable!"

8:00pm Onward, Everywhere: The day is done, the events are finished. How does your character get home? Do they go home alone? Do they seek the company of their fellow heroes? Do they stay alone, or do they get a room together? Either way, it's a rough night for everyone.

Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Activity Check: January 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: January 1st - January 31st, 2020 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gyre goes very still when she mentions that she saw Luka, expecting a report about how they got into a big fight, or at least a nasty remark about the princess. Instead, she just moves on and he lets out a breath, nodding as she answers his question. He wants to see Seven honestly. He wants to see what this machine is she mentioned, but the Wizard told him to talk to Twelve.

He watches the two of them in silence for a few beats, tilting his head curiously at how excited she looks by the pepper. There is this faint confusion in him. He had thought her diet was more similar to his, given her teeth, but he supposes Garrot had teeth like his too and still ate like the rest of them.

"Hm," he starts, trying to gather his scattered thoughts up again. "What is the machine? I'd like to talk to them, but not if they're busy..."

As Gyre asks his question, Six is offering the pepper out to Five and she just annihilates it. The whole thing goes into her mouth and she munches it to pieces in moments.

"Um" She starts to say, mouth full of pepper. She swallows before she continues.

"Nine's probably busy still, Seven's not out until they're better. I guess you could look for Nine? She's probably in the... driver place." She pauses, glancing at Six.

"Bridge?" Six offers.

"...No? Those go over water." She counters, confused, pulling out her phone to text Eight and ask what it's called.

This is a baffling exchange. His eyes bounce back and forth between them, trying to understand what they possibly could mean.

"Car," he says after a second, trying to supply some kind of answer. That's the only object he's ever associated with driving, and it's not even really a place. He frowns deeply, trying to focus back into his memory. But there's nothing for him there. If only he'd been in the navy forty years ago he might have an answer.

So he shakes his head slightly, murmuring, "She told me to talk to Twelve. Where's she?"

Five gives an immediate "not that" in response to Gyre's contribution. Sorry buddy, she's trying so hard to rem--

"He says it is 'bridge'." Five says, dejected, as she looks at her phone and Six looks smug. It takes them a few moments to abandon the topic and--

"Oh, uh, that could go bad. Or it could go fine. It'll probably be fine right--?" Five comments, uncertain, looking over to Six who gives her a nod that yeah it'll probably be fine.

"Yeah totally fine. Uh. There's a path through the garden, where Ten and the jerk Princess are, it goes under an arch and then-- You'll see her, just uh, don't be rude?" Five tries to explain. How did she make this make sense? Fuuuuuuuuck.

What is a bridge? Those go over water, right? Five had just said that. He stares at her with a decidedly incredulous expression, not quite believing her despite being pretty sure Eight wouldn't lie to her.

Luckily, he doesn't have to admit this ignorance. He can see what sort of bridge they're talking about once he goes to meet Nine and Seven. For now, Five reassures him, and he nods slightly. He still looks mystified, but this time it's over what rudeness means in this context. He'll be himself. Hopefully that satisfies whatever conditions she has.

"Okay. I'm going to go to her," he says, tapping his fist down into his open palm. He has a plan, and so he sets off towards Luka and Twelve.

Edited 2020-01-25 02:18 (UTC)

"I'm going to keep working in the garden?" Six offers, blinking.

"I'll make sure he doesn't drown." Five counters, shrugging as she walks after Gyre as he makes his way back to Luka.

After a tense conversation with the Princess, Gyre is more determined then ever to get to Twelve. The sooner he's met her, the sooner he can start planning around her. His mind keeps trailing back to what he said to Five. Twelve wants to fight, and he's going to fight her. He has to keep the knights safe. But he also can't bear for another one of these monsters to die, or nearly die at their hands. This sucks!

Which is to say, he's walking in a brooding silence, his eyes beginning to shine as if he's about to cry. The stress of the day, of the week, is settling onto him more and more with each step, but he just keeps walking. This is the next step, and he's waiting for whatever direction Five is eventually going to have to give him here. Lead the way, buddy, he's stuck in his own head for now.

Gyre isn't the only one who's a balled up collection of frustrations in this moment. Five leads the way, stomping with every step, as she makes her way down the path and under a hedge archway to an area that Gyre will recognize again.

Every space is perfectly laid out with stones surrounded by sand, bordered by rocks or water, and featuring flawlessly trimmed bushes and shrubs. There are flowers in several places, bringing a pop of color to the space. The sound of rushing water is obvious at the edges of the space.

The big difference, however, is that the edges of this area is no longer a cliff. There are no longer low-hanging clouds. Now, past the edges, is just water. Water as far as the eye can see, stretching out into the horizon. This place couldn't be that big...?

Twelve is no longer seated at the edge of the space.

Five immediately stops stomping once she's passed the archway, instead switching to a much more careful walk. She makes her way towards a set of cushioned seats and lowers down onto one while waving Gyre over. Sit.

"Sit, quietly." She whispers out towards him.

This space helps his mood. He's still decidedly brooding when he passes through the archway, but he can't help looking up and around, taking in the details of this place again. It's not anything like the spaces wild elves set up, but there's still something peaceful in it. It's so obviously well cared for, tended to with perfect detail.

"Ah," he says, blinking over to Five and the pile of cushions. He tilts his head for a moment, wondering why they would sit instead of going to find Twelve? He's not sure what's going on here, but he walks over and settles down into the seating area, folding his legs underneath himself.

"Where is she?" he asks, at a normal volume. He doesn't know why they'd be whispering??

Gyre.

You're an idiot.

In the way that a storm cloud blocks out the sun and drapes the area in shadows, Gyre will find himself in sudden shadow as a massive figure takes up a position behind him. How did he get snuck up on? Why wasn't there a sound?

He doesn't get long to think about it before at least a dozen points press against his body. At the sides of his head, the sides of his arms, the sides of his entire body all the way down to where he's sitting. It's like massive claws have wrapped around him from behind and the tips are holding him right where he is. They don't squeeze, they don't press, they don't do anything more than hold him in place. He can't turn around, he can't get a glimpse at what is doing this.

But what he does see is two massive feet come into view, to his left and right, and they settle onto the ground with alarming silence. There's no rumble from these massive tree trunk feet as they settle. They expand slightly like they're not solid, the weight of whoever this is causing them to spread on the ground to withstand the weight.

And then the massive body shifts overhead, numerous fabrics of all kinds of designs dangle down from all over in impossible angles and shapes. What kind of body are they hanging off of? What kind of monster is this?

From the massive body above, a huge neck lowers down, a face coming into view that moves right up towards Gyre to examine him. She is massive. Her head looks like a dragon's head, huge spikes jutting out of the back(?) of it towards her neck. There's a definite maw of teeth(?) and she breathes out a wave of steam over Gyre that is unmistakably scented with thyme, turmeric, fresh bread, and matcha.

She has two lines of eyes running up both sides of her face. Six in a row, at different angles, with black sclera and 12-pointed star pupils surrounded by irises of varying warm colors. Reds, oranges, and yellows. Since Gyre's so close, he'll realize that they aren't permanent colors, they're slowly shifting.

To his side, he'll hear Five very quietly offer: "Good afternoon, Twelve, this is the boar knight."

He tenses when the shadows falls over him, immediately beginning to turn to see who's with him. This, of course, means he's thoroughly caught on those claws as they close around him, the shoulders of his shirt shredding. He makes a grunt of irritation at this, realizing just how many holes he's going to have to patch before he can wear these clothes again.

Not that he holds this thought in his head for very long as she bends over him and he sees her broad jaw and her alien eyes, and he freezes in place. He feels very much like a prey animal in this moment, his eyes widening as he takes her in.

"Nice to meet you," he says after a beat, his voice cautious and careful. He has no idea what to think about this, and he waiting for her to make her intentions a little clearer.

Twelve is silent for several long, long moments before releasing Gyre. All the claws that were gripping him release, and she stands upright once again behind him. By the time he turns to see her, she's already returned to a more manageable form. Her arms have folded away, her huge neck has hidden... somewhere? She's mostly bipedal, but with all the fabrics dangling off of her form it's almost impossible to see what she's standing on. She looks like she's wearing a massive dress made up of individual layers of fabric where there could be anything hidden beneath. The only thing that is visible is the tip of a tail that, if the size is any indication, is massive hidden beneath.

Especially since since nearly ten feet tall. She is huge. There are only two sets of arms still visible above the fabrics. The first set is folded at her front, fingers wrapped around her forearms with huge claws visible. The other set is down at her sides, two claws of her left hand idly 'tack'ing together rhythmically.

Once again, her massive maw opens slightly and steam pours from it like she's hiding dry ice in her mouth.

"Gyre. Friend?" She questions with a voice that feels like a whisper. It's like she's beside him, whispering in his ear, but she's so far up that there's no way. How is her voice doing that?

"Yeah he's alright." Five answers, shrugging as she finally relaxes.

He turns when she releases him, looking up and up and up at her. His eyes run over her, taking in what details he can see. She's big. She might actually be bigger then she looks right now, if her tail is any indication. His attention lingers on her claws, all of them, and he wonders if those were the needles he had been surrounded with just a second ago.

Her voice hits him like that strangest gust of air, a shiver racing up his spine. He doesn't like it. He doesn't like that she's so big and so far over there, and yet it feels like she's right in his ear. He shifts thoughtlessly, moving to stand so he can face her.

"I want to help you," he says as he stands, glancing down at Five. "All of you."

Five makes a face before looking over at Twelve.

"You're gonna fight him, right?" She asks, looking over the massive form of the bigger monster. As she asks it, Twelve turns and looks with intensity down at Five. Several seconds pass as the two just stare at each other.

Then, Twelve lets her head loll backwards. It... goes way too far. Her entire body curves backwards and it's like she's doing a slow-motion backflip. The fabrics over her body whip outward in the air as the momentum of her body keeps going.

And then a much, much smaller body leaps forward out of the fabrics. The body is impossibly too small to be Twelve, but she's covered in the same fabrics that Twelve's big body was. She has hair(?) that was spiked backwards from her head, and her eyes are in four lines up her face. Two eyes where you'd expect them, and then two more above on her forehead, and another two almost to where her hair is. The next set are below the first set, where you'd expect cheekbones. Then another back from those, in front of her ears, and the last set are below those at the back of her jaws. Her mouth is still spiky-teeth filled but now it's not a carnivorous maw. She has the same warm-colored, twelve-point-star pupilled eyes locked on him.

And she's shorter than Five.

Once she's stopped moving, the fabrics are practically flowing with a wind from nowhere where they're dangling off of her form.

"Fight me, boar knight Gyre." She demands, holding her hands out-- She has twelve arms on that tiny body, and they fan out to both of her sides with her palms facing Gyre. It absolutely has the vibes of the multi-armed buddha statues, it's terrifying.

And she's smiling.

"Fight--?!" he exclaims, looking in Five's direction. His voice dies in his throat thought as he watches them stare intensely at each other, and then this... transformation begins. He watches in quiet awe, jumping a little as her body folds back like that and jumping again when she leaps out of the mass of fabric.

He's stands there in stunned silence for a moment, bringing his hands up hesitantly as she demands a fight. He's half on guard, half trying to pacify her, and his expression slowly settles into a grim confidence.

"Only if you'll only fight me in five days. We can fight now, and then, but don't hurt anyone else."

Twelve, meanwhile, brings her fists up in front of her. As she does, all ten of her other arms mimic the movement and come together into the same position. Not the same position all around the first two arms that put up her fists, but they all seem to clip into her arms and all come together so at the end of it, she only has two arms in front of her.

"Okay. Try to hit me." She demands, still smiling wide.

In the background, Five rolls her eyes.

He watches her arms all fuse in together, looking over her stance. His attention keeps returning to her smile, and he tilts his head slightly. Is she enjoying herself, or does she just want to hurt him?

He doesn't know. But if she'll promise this, then it doesn't matter. "Okay. Are you ready?" he asks.

And as he's speaking, he forms a little square shield just behind her hands and uh tries to slap it into her chest. If all she wants is for him to hit her, he'd rather catch her off guard and end it now.

Edited 2020-01-25 22:31 (UTC)

Clever, Gyre. Five sees it and blinks at it, but there's one important thing that Gyre has entirely forgotten about in this moment:

This isn't Twelve's first rodeo.

She sees it, too, and smiles wider at the magic he'd brought into existence. Four of her eyes snap to attention down at his little shield square and they go wide with intensity.

And his shield stops.

And her other eight eyes stay on him. If anything, she seems like she's brimming with enthusiasm.

"I'm waiting, boar knight." She says, eager to see what he tries next.

"Really? You're going to play with him?" Five mutters, sounding incredulous. Apparently this wasn't how she thought this would go down.

The moment his shield stops, he lets go of it, letting it dissolve with a low irritated sigh. But she also hasn't advanced on him either. He's incredibly tense, but he glances at Five, watching her. Play with him? So she's not taking it seriously? He considers this for a beat.

And he reaches inside his tattered vest, drawing out his folded up metal bow and beginning to extend it. "Fen, can you come here?" he asks the air, glancing just slightly to the side where he expects them to appear before he returns his attention to Twelve.

"How'd you do that?" he asks, forcing his voice flat just so it doesn't tremor with how nervous he is. He's not in a shape to fight, really. He has to play this as carefully as possible since a surprise didn't work.

Fen pops into existence like a balloon being inflated into the air. They blink at Gyre and then blink at Five and then blink at Twelve before happily declaring:

"Oh hi!" They declare, radiating flowers out from where they're floating.

"How? Magic." She answers, waiting for just a moment as Gyre pulls out his bow.

"Ugh. Come here or you'll get hurt." Five reaches up, obtaining Fen out of the air and pulling them over to her and holding them in her arms.

"Thanks!" They say, delighted.

He smiles at the two of them, surprised to see how immediately Five takes over keeping Fen safe. He takes a step towards them, reaching out to rumple the bristly fur on top of his animal's head.

"Can I have an arrow, ki'ta?" he asks gently, glancing up at Five as he continues, "Have you met before?" He looks towards Twelve as he asks it, trying to get her talking as well. Let's all just relax here please.

Edited 2020-01-26 00:57 (UTC)

Fen rotates slightly in Five's grasp as Gyre offers head rumples. A few moments later, they're blinking up at Gyre as a silver arrow pops into the air between them. Here you go, they look delighted at him after they provide it.

"I don't know if we've met. Maybe? I think you're nice!" Fen chimes in happily.

Five, meanwhile, blinks down at Fen and then makes a face at Gyre.

"What, are you going to shoot her at point blank r--" Five starts, but gets interrupted as Twelve immediately chimes in.

"Do it."

Gyre gives Fen a sad, fond smile, wondering if there's anything he can do to help them remember. Not right now though. He turns back towards Twelve and his eyes widen as she just uhhh demands he shoot her from right here?

"Is that really what you want?" he asks, taking the arrow out of the air and hooking it to his belt. He strings his bow, bending the metal back with a practiced motion.

"I was actually planning on running into the trees and trying to get you from there but... this'd be easier."

Right now there's nothing that could make them remember. For now they're just rotating slightly in Five's grasp. How are they rotating without actually moving? What are they, an unstoppable orb?

Five, meanwhile, rolls her eyes at Gyre.

"I thought you two were going to fight, but this is stupid." She shakes her head at both of them.

"I'm gonna go eat." She follows, turning away from the two of them. Six of Twelve's eyes lock on to Five as she starts to turn away, and immediately Five is lifted off the ground inside of a bubble that looks alarmingly like Gyre's shield bubble.

"Stay. Watch." Twelve declares, before looking back at Gyre with her full intensity.

"Shoot."

Gyre watches them turn away, unsure whether to be relieved or nervous how Twelve will react with no audience. At least they'll be safe, he supposes.

Except then, they're in a bubble and Twelve is demanding she stays. Gyre gets immediately flustered, his entire body tensing and he swings the bow towards the ground. It's completely neutral. There's no way he could shoot her from here, and that's because he won't. Not while she's controlling them like this.

"Let her go. If she doesn't want to watch, don't make her."

The Weather

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